Aparna Yadav shares Mulayam's blessings photo after BJP switch

Days after she joined the BJP, Aparna Yadav tweeted a photo of her taking blessings from Samajwadi Party founder and her father-in-law Mulayam Singh Yadav in Lucknow.

"Took the blessings of my father/netaji in Lucknow after taking membership of the Bharatiya Janata Party," Aparna Yadav tweeted.

Aparna Yadav joins saffron camp: Can BJP use the family feud against Akhilesh?

Reacting to Aparna's joining the BJP, her brother-in-law Akhilesh had said that he hoped that she would "carry" SP's ideology to the BJP. "It is good to see that BJP is giving tickets to those who we did not nominate," he said.

Sources in the SP said that Aparna had sought nomination from Lucknow Cantonment seat but was refused the ticket as Akhilesh felt that she would not be able to win the seat for the party.

Read | Battle for UP: Why Lucknow Cantt seat is so important

Aparna had contested from the same seat in 2017 but had lost to BJP nominee Rita Bahuguna Joshi. Interestingly, Joshi, who was currently a BJP MP from Prayagraj, has sought a ticket from the saffron party for her son Mayank Joshi.

Aparna was married to Prateek Yadav, who was the son of SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav's second wife Sadhna Gupta.

She had earlier also aired her difference with Akhilesh over several issues and had heaped praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. She had also given donations for the under construction Ram Temple at Ayodhya.

SP leaders here said that Aparna's entry would not benefit the BJP as she did not have a support base. "It is (Aparna's switch to BJP) just a loss of face. It has no electoral significance," a senior SP leader said.

Sources said that Mulayam, as well as his younger brother Shivpal Singh Yadav, who had also parted ways with Akhilesh but declared his support for the SP president in the forthcoming Assembly polls, had also spoken to Aparna in a bid to persuade her not to join the BJP but she remained adamant.

Sources in the BJP here said that the saffron party might find it difficult to nominate Aparna from the seat she had sought as it could irk Rita Bahuguna Joshi.

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